SF&G's Cosmeston Tenancy Covering Letter

June 2021

Vision / Positioning Paper – Welsh Government Land near Penarth

Background
SF&G have been supporting community groups to access land in Wales for over 8 years, such  agreements bring benefits of those communities accessing the land, land owners, the environment  and wider society. The Community Land Advisory Service (CLAS Cymru) provides this support and is  directly funded by the Landscape and Recreation division within Welsh Government to do so. Recently we have been supporting a number of groups in the Vale of Glamorgan who are actively  seeking land. The opportunity presented by the Cosmeston & Swanbridge farmlands is unique given  its location to some of the largest urban conurbations in Wales. Within this position paper we aim  to highlight the diverse array of activity that this land could support, all of which can and will help  deliver directly against a number of key Welsh Government priorities.

The Vision
Our short term vision would be to spend the next two years mapping out and planning in detail the  numerous opportunities this land could un-lock whilst at the same time delivering a number of  immediate positive outcomes. During these first two years we would work with Welsh Government  to fully understand and commit to supporting any aspirations that they may have for the land. We  will then work with the local communities, businesses and social enterprises to master plan their ideas that are not only feasible, but those that protect and improve the important habitats; meet  Wales’ climate change objectives; support economic growth and meet the key ambitions of Welsh  policy and strategy that could be delivered if longer term access to the land could be secured.

Background to SF&G
SF&G are a UK wide charity, which has been in existence for over 40 years. In Wales it supports a  large range of diverse community led growing spaces, over which there are over 1,000! Including,  but not limited to, allotments, orchards, community supported agriculture farms, city farms, community gardens, school growing sites and many more. It has a team of dedicated staff across  Wales with offices in Cardiff, Newtown & Bangor. It works in partnership with a wide range organisations and influencers and has delivered many outputs on behalf of Welsh Government, Local  Authorities, and our communities in Wales. Community food growing activities directly deliver  against many of the key priorities for this and previous Welsh Government administrations.

Alignment with current policy, guidance & legislation in Wales
Below we have taken the time to highlight to those reviewing the tenders the many and varied areas  of Welsh Government priorities that our proposal will support.

Programme for Government
• Emphasis on collaboration over competition.

• Build an economy based on the principles of fair work, sustainability and the industries and  services of the future:

o Build an economy based on sustainable jobs.

o Deliver the Young Persons Guarantee, giving everyone under 25 the offer of work,  education, training, or self-employment.

o Create 125,000 all-age apprenticeships.

• Build a stronger, greener economy as we make maximum progress towards decarbonisation. o 10-year Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan for a zero-carbon economy. • Embed our response to the climate and nature emergency in everything we do: o Deliver a green transformation which starts in our local communities, with a focus  on local green spaces, locally-grown sustainable food, locally-generated renewable  energy and avoiding waste.

o Make sure that nature and the climate are on the agenda of every public service and  private sector business.

o Create a new system of farm support that will maximise the protective power of  nature through farming.

o Create a National Forest to extend from the North of Wales to the South. o Harness the economic, cultural, and recreational potential of the National Forest as  part of progress towards a sustainable timber industry.

o Expand arrangements to create or significantly enhance green spaces.

• Develop a Wales Community Food Strategy.

• Continue our long-term programme of education reform, and ensure educational  inequalities narrow and standards rise.

• Make our cities, towns and villages even better places in which to live and work. o Support cooperative housing, community-led initiatives, and community land  trusts.

Relevant Wellbeing Objectives in Programme for Government
• Build an economy based on the principles of fair work, sustainability and the industries and  services of the future.

o Progress our Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission for Wales. o Help businesses to work co-operatively to support local supply chains, including  local delivery and logistics services.

• Build a stronger, greener economy as we make maximum progress towards  decarbonisation.

• Embed our response to the climate and nature emergency in everything we do. o Legislate to strengthen the requirements for the use of sustainable drainage  systems that provide wildlife habitat.

o Empower communities to have a greater stake in local regeneration.

o Change the performance framework for local government to better enable  innovation, transparency, and local ownership.

In addition, there are specific areas of the Labour Manifesto 2021 that our proposal will  directly deliver on.

Expand the successful scheme supporting community groups across Wales to create or significantly  enhance green spaces accessible to and valued by local communities, including:

• 2000 pollinator habitat sites.

• 1000 community food growing sites.

• 200 community orchards cultivating native fruit.

• 100 ‘Tiny Forests’ – dense and diverse woodlands the size of a tennis court. • 50 habitat creation schemes at rail stations and transport interchanges.

• 50 sensory gardens for therapeutic purposes, delivered in partnership with health charities  and the Welsh NHS.

Make sure that nature and climate are on the agenda of every public service and private sector  business, and we will be looking to see an environmental return on any public investment.

Make a reality of community-focused schools by investing in the learning environment, co-locating  key services, and securing stronger engagement with parents and carers outside traditional hours.

Invest in the sustainable green industries of tomorrow.
Developing a more sustainable relationship with the natural world must begin in our local  communities – access to local green spaces for the wellbeing benefits it can bring, a local economy  that avoids waste, locally generated renewable energy, locally grown food, and keeping all  communities safe from the impact of pollution and the changing climate.

Integrate positive action for nature into more of our economic activity.

Our vision could make this holding an example for others to consider replicating.

Alignment with forthcoming policy & strategies:
SF&G have been actively involved in the direction of travel for Wales’s Agriculture (Wales) White  Paper. We have fed in directly and indirectly to both Brexit and Our Land and Sustainable Farming  and Our Land consultations. We have positively supported the trajectory of change detailed in the  white paper. We feel this land could showcase the objectives being sought from the Common  Agricultural Policy reform process here in Wales. We could, within a matter of a few short years transform this land in to a hugely productive (economic) holding that is less reliant on subsidies  going forward. We want to demonstrate how diverse farming systems can produce healthy  nutritious food, create large numbers of jobs, tackle social issues all whilst protecting and enhancing  our environment.

We believe this holding can help shape, inform and create a test-bed the forthcoming ‘Community  Food Strategy’. We and our partners have been contributing to many discussions around our food  systems, the opportunities that exist within it and its current failings. More than that we have been

contributing action research through the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund and through two  RDP bids we are about to embark upon. We are already pushing boundaries, forging links and  working with experts right across the UK to help understand the issues and how to attempt to  overcome them. Social Farms & Gardens, in partnership with the Wales Rural Observatory were the  driving force behind the previous ‘Community Grown Food Action Plan’. Although this document is  10 years old now it is still as relevant now as it was then. Through this action plan the community  food sector in Wales has grown exponentially – representing almost as much productive horticulture  space as the entire commercial sector in Wales.

Environmental Gains
The environmental gains that could be had by converting this land and the operations stemming from it, we believe are vast. By transitioning towards an Agroecological Farm the following will be  achieved. This holding could be used to pilot effective ‘payments for ecosystem services’.

• Reduction of fossil fuel inputs (fuels, fertilizers)

• Eradication of harmful pesticides

• Reduction in carbon emissions (through shorter supply chains & less inputs) • Greater carbon capture and sequestration (through better soil management, woodland  creation and management).

• Habitat improvement across 10’s of acres (creating those hedges & edges wildlife havens,  hay meadow creation & restoration and through creating important wildlife corridors). • We will improve water quality through better soil health and management. We will reduce

mains water consumption through rainwater harvesting and innovative solutions. • We will help attenuate water on the lands, through planting schemes, crop cover green lays etc.

• We will maintain and enhance the important ‘Green Wedge’ that much of this land is  designated for.

Social Gains
We know through our work leading on Care Farming across the UK how farms such as this can create  lasting, life changing opportunities for those in society that maybe disadvantaged, isolated or at risk. We would ensure that this land becomes more accessible to all. We will ensure it leads on and focuses on social outputs (community involvement, social prescribing, volunteering, skills, training,  educational alignment, enterprise opportunities, safe spaces etc.). This added value may be hard to  quantify in monetary terms but through the planning phase we will put a social return on investment  figure.

Economic Gains
By managing this land different we are fully confident there would be large economic gains to be  had. Many directly, but also many that are indirect - but as an absolute correlation to the outputs  we would want to achieve. This land could stimulate several small and micro enterprises into  operation. The horticultural opportunities alone could employ as many as 50 workers and support  the same number of apprentices over a number of years. By creating a hyper local approach, we will  ensure that money spent is invested in the local region, meaning it stays local and delivers more  benefits for a longer period of time. The project work funding we would look to lever in over time  will help to safeguard dozens of jobs already in existence.

Trusted Partner
SF&G should be seen as a trusted partner helping to deliver and test many Welsh Government  priorities. We have a long and enviable history in supporting communities to do more. We are a  charity and with that comes responsibility and oversite (from the charity commission). We also have  a separate trading company (Community Interest Company) which is applicable to companies house  and HMRC oversite and the C.I.C registrar. Our patron is HRH the Prince of Wales and our president  is Lord Curry of Kirkharle CBE.

We have helped broker dozens of land agreements with private land owners, Local Authorities and  even Welsh Government. We have worked with and supported the largest community farm  operation in Wales for many years – this farm has been delivering many of the outputs we highlight  here, for over a decade now.

More recently we have helped Wales’s largest community asset land transfer, shifting 140 acres of  local authority land into community ownership and development – this project alone (Open  Newtown) has levered in almost £3m of inward investment to its surrounding community – proving  the diversity of reach the community can bring to land holdings.

We have a very strong working relationship with many partners whom are backing our approach  here, we are not in this alone and certainly don’t intend to be.

What could be achieved in just two years?
• Full phase 2 habitat assessments for all the land in question.

• Up to 100 new allotments could be created.

• 2 or 3 new community fruit and nut orchards could be planted (benefiting biodiversity but  also delivering commercial activity).

• Social prescribing / eco therapy opportunities created and delivered.

• 30 acres of land put to horticultural production.

• Community composting systems created.

• 10,000 new trees planted – supporting the National Forest ambitions of WG. • 2,100 tonnes of carbon captured and sequestered for future generations. • A new food hub would be creating hyper local food systems.

• £80,000 of inward investment found to further the aims of the vision.

Beyond the two years if longer term secure access to some or all of the land could be achieved the  following would be possible:
• £500,000 of additional investment secured.

• 50 new jobs created.

• 50 new apprentice positions created.

• 5 new farm start / incubator hubs.

• 50,000 new trees could be planted.

• 50 partner organisations operating across the land.

• 50,000 tonnes of carbon captured.

• 5 schools fed with fresh produce from the site.

• 500 families could be fed with year round fresh, nutritious sustainably grown food. • 5,000 tonnes of compost could be created.

• 50 species of fauna and flora protected for the future.

• 50 local producers feeding into a food hub capable of feeding into the public procurement  framework.

We hope Welsh Government will support this vision and the partnership that Social Farms &  Gardens will bring together.

Gary Mitchell

Wales Manger (Social Farms & Gardens)